It’s hard to imagine Swedish fashion before Weekday. In just a few years, the company that launched the Cheap-Monday-heard-round-the-world franchise has become almost as ubiquitous as H&M in the closets of young Swedes. Weekday has followed the Swedish business model (see: H&M, IKEA, Volvo) perfectly, by creating affordable and commercial products, but still keeping a focus on design.

Weekday goes one step further, by straddling the line between commercial and underground. The staff in the shops are all young and beautiful (also known as the American Apparel approach – refer here or here if you need further proof), and the people behind the scenes, like Elinor, are always well-connected to the independent fashion scene in Scandinavia.

In the past months, mini-collections created through collaborations with small but influential Scandinavian designers like Carin Wester and Nhu Duong have continued to give the company its edginess, while being careful to not become too high-end, which would alienate the young clientele to which it caters.

Elinor is the perfect example of the Weekday approach, combining high fashion (Karl Lagerfeld, Sara Anna Dåvik, Carin Wester) with basic but well-constructed pieces from Weekday. Form and function, form and function…